Mets Chat: Your thoughts on the Castillo trade

Omar Minaya said the Mets could live with what they had at second base, but first chance he got he landed a second baseman. Castillo brings a lot to the table. He’s fast, a switch-hitter, a good defensive player. And, he won’t cost the Mets anybody they would need in the immediate future.

John Delcos enters his third season covering the Mets for The Journal News after eight seasons on the Yankees beat. Prior to coming to New York, John covered the Baltimore Orioles, Cleveland Browns and Cleveland Indians.

42 Comments

I’d like to see Gotay still get a lot of reps at second, and maybe have Castillo come in late in games for defensive help.
He will be able to help a ton off the bench, and allow Easley to play for guys like Reyes or Wright to give them a day of rest.

Actually, I wouldn’t say Luis Castillo is an everyday player on the Mets. He has been bothered by leg soreness all season and typically sits out day after night games. Gotay will still get PLENTY of chances with Castillo around. That said, Castillo will be the second baseman on most nights late in games. He has great hands, and while his range isn’t what it used to be, he fields what is hit to him. I look forward to seeing a chemistry develop between him and Jose. Great move.

I’m hoping Omar pulls a rabbit out of hits hat with a bullpen piece in the next 20 hours.

nice move, but more than the pen, the Mets need OF help. I believe Beltran will be out for significant time. Injuries such as his are slow to heal, and it is virtually impossible to keep the rest of your body in shape. Its a painful thing, and anyone who thinks he’s soft about this is ignorant of the problem. Alou can’t be counted on to play much and Green needs days off. He’s been a hero due to all the injuries but it has taken too much of a toll on his power.

Mel, Regarding Beltran….can u say Pussy!!!! Mets should have signed Vladimir…..(bad back and all)....Hey Beltran…....strike 3…. I really am a Mets fan, but this guy makes me sick….....kinda wish he went to the yanks…..

Testiculon: True, Gotay’s on the bench and I’d much rather have him come off it than David Newhan.
Billy: Please. Your rant against Beltran is pure bile.
How can you rip a guy for being hurt? Beltran has tear in his abdomen. He didn’t go out and purposely tear it on purpose. And what good would it do for him to come back less than 100 percent and risk worsening his injury which would have him miss the post-season?
Are Endy Chavez and Carlos Gomez also lesser men because they haven’t ywet returned from their injuries?
Stop assailing his manhood and let him fully recuperate. And as for his taking called strike three in NLCS Game 7, come on. The entire team, including the manager lost that game.
Was it Beltran’s fault Jose Valentin struck out with the bases jacked with one out in a tie game in the 6th? Or that Endy Chavez flied out on the next pitch? Or that Aaron Heilman surrendered the two-run blast to Yadier Molina? Or that Willie Randolph didn’t pinch-hit Tom Glavine to sacrifice the tying runs into scoring position with none out? Or that Cliff Floyd struck out looking in the 9th, or that Jose Reyes lined out?
Yeah, Billy, you’re right, it’s all Beltran’s fault.
NOT!

He’s no longer a Gold Glover because he has bad knees… a trend here… he can’t hit for extra bases at all… and these are bad things.

Gotay deserved the chance and he’d kept earning it hit after hit after hit and… still, the Mets pick up a dude on the decline who’s gonna give you less at the plate.

A bullpen arm was and is needed a lot more.

Mota and Schoeneweis seem to be nonsensically held onto for the same reason Castillo was gotten… simply because they are older than their early thirties and cost too much and… so they must be good! Right? Right?

It’s hard to get too mad about it unless Omar flips his gourd and resigns Castillo in the winter and… Gotay leaves to Heath Bell right back in the Mets’ faces somewhere else.

They’re just so enamoured with the idea of getting one more year out of guys whose best years are five years behind them, it’s weird.

But for now, we still have Milledge and Gomez and Gotay and Pelfrey and Humber and F-Mart and… to a lesser extent… Guerra and Mulvey and Carp and…

Someday, this organization is gonna wake up and stop throwing money at Used-To-Bes and… hopefully those guys are all gonna be there to win a pennant then.

There’s a lot to like about Castillo, I think this was a great pick-up. But will people stop talking about his defense? His defense was decent in 2003, it’s now 4 years later and he’s really not a great fielder anymore.

This is like listening to people talk about how Andruw Jones is still “one of the best CF’s in the game” when he really hasn’t been a good fielder since 2003. Yes, he once was awesome in the field, but what you remember from 5 years ago isn’t how the player is still performing. I mean come on, I remember Shawn Green’s 49HR season, should I still call him a power hitter?

He should really benefit health-wise from not playing on turf anymore. Listen, this is a good deal. I’m not worried about next year yet. He has a style of play which I feel will fit in nicely with this team. I’m excited to see him play!

Metfanscomplaintoomuch… brilliant name, and really much too true. If it makes you feel better, I really think it’s just baseball fans in general who complain too much, but it doesn’t make the original statement any less true.

Mike C.: Castillo won his last Gold Glove (his third) and made the All-Star team (his third) in 2005. That’s recent, not ancient history.
Here are some other positives about Luis Castillo:
He’s an ideal No. 2 hitter.
He’s got a World Series ring.
He’s a switch hitter.
He’s an excelent bunter.
He doesn’t strike out much (only 28 times in about 350 ABs this year).
He’s hitting over .300.
His range to his left will allow him to get balls Delgado can’t.
Even if he leaves the Mets after this season, we’d get compensation draft picks for him.
And as much as I love Gotay, he’s a defensive liability – and I’m not only speaking of the two DP balls last week he threw away.
Gotay is going to be a great bench player for now.
This was an excellent move – getting someone of Castillo’s caliber for two low-level, dime-a-dozen prospects.
And I don’t believe Omar’s done.
I expect a bullpen upgrade next.

Whoever the mop-up relief man was for the Cardinals last year has a World Series ring, too. There’s a lot of players bouncing around with World Series rings and it doesn’t mean anything.

Gotay’s also a switch hitter.

Tom Glavine is also an excellent bunter but I don’t want him at second over Gotay, either.

He doesn’t strike out much and he’s hitting .300… that’s great and all… but on a team with the absolute minimum of its power potential, having a guy at second who can, y’know, hit an extra base hit ever at all would be kind of nice.

Gold Gloves are as much a popularity contest as an actual gauge of defensive prowess… DEREK JETER WINS GOLD GLOVES for God’s sake and he is no great shakes defensively…

Not to mention that there are ten years on Castillo’s legs in those two years since that Gold Glove.

Knee injuries have killed the dude’s range.

Compensation picks mean about as dot-com stock in baseball… all they get you are another pull on the lever for another minor leaguer that the odds say won’t mean anything at all.

This isn’t football, this isn’t baseball, there are no sure things in the draft. Brien Taylor, Brien Taylor, Brien Taylor.

Nothing weirder than when baseball fans flip out over getting compensation picks without realizing that 90% of those compensation picks will turn into guys who flame out after two years struggling in the NY-Penn League or whatever low-minors league of your choice.

C’mon now.

No offense but I think you’re deeply overestimating a moderate defensive upgrade at a position and deeply underestimating the idea that maybe… just maybe… 80% of what we’re seeing from Gotay’s bat is for real.

We know what Castillo WAS and we know that’s in decline.

We don’t know what Gotay could be and we’re giving up on that for the stretch run this year?

Feh. Feh and blah.

I’d rather have Gotay’s doubles and home runs and give up the three or four errors Castillo’s glove will save us.

I’m not really sure what everyone is getting so worked up about on this trade. They got a solid 2b for two low level prospects they didn’t value too highly. At best Castillo is a sparkplug in the second spot and great defensively. At worst he shores up the bench.

This was a nice trade but did nothing to address the club’s bigger issues. If Omar doesn’t get some bullpen help then it will have been a dissapointment.

Very simple, Castillo is playing 2nd and batting 2nd for the rest of the year. Pencil it in, better yet, put it in ink. Gotay should really go down to NO. Easley is the back-up. Gotay could easily be packaged off right now for bull pen help and there would be nothing wrong with that. Make the team strong now and make a run.

Maybe in that respect he clears up a trade of Gotay for a reliever. If Ty Wiggington is worth Dan Wheeler then maybe Gotay plus a prospect can bring back someone similar.

Even with Gotay’s high BA his OBP is only slightly higher than Castillo. The .336 BA looks nice, but it falls even to .310 than Castillo could be the better hitter.

I like a bench of Castro, Gotay, Easley, M. Anderson, and Endy Chavez (or Green) which offers solid defense options all over, a couple of solid lefty bats and a couple of righty bats with some pop. That is a playoff plus quality bench.

Choo Choo: Who’s out there, as far as bullpen help goes, worthy of trading Ruben Gotay for?
I’d keep him. Gotay and Marlon Anderson are two very good lefty options off the bench. Easley and Castro (provided we keep a third catcher on the roster) are good righty options.
The prospect I WOULD move for the right piece is Pelfrey.
I’d keep Phil Humber and Deolis Guerra.
My trade targets now would be a bona fide 8th inning guy (in this order): Eric Gagne, Chad Cordero, Octavio Dotel, Zack Greinke, Shawn Chacon, Matt Thornton; a late-inning defensive replacement for Carlos Delgado (Jeff Conine); a late-inning outfield defensive replacement for Shawn Green (easily found); and a starting pitcher (Joe Blanton).

All in all I think this makes us a comlete team in the infield. Gotay is awesome but I don’t know 4 sure he can handle late games in the middle of a race. We know what castillo can do. Gettin on base consistently and makin contact.

I am not down on Gotay. I just think his value is high right now and maybe Omar catches someone napping and gets a quality reliever that is not one of the names currently being thrown around. I certainly would not give Gotay away, but putting him with another minor leaguer or someone from our current bullpen to bring back quality is worthwhile. Maybe even work a trade for a starter with him in the package. If he is not traded, he needs to go down. He is not a bench player and there is no sense experimenting with him in that role at this time of year especially with Philly on a 9-1 tear. Castillo was not brought here to sit on the bench. He is a gold glover with a decent stick. Definitely need to carry Alomar on the big league roster to free up Castro as a PH and get some playing time with LoDuca having a suspect hammy. Again, it is close to stretch run time and the bench needs to be solid. Can’t waste Castro as the only catcher on the bench. Let Alomar be the 25th man.

Aside from his being a world champion etc, I think Gotay could learn a lot from Castillo and if he’s got another coupla productive years in him I say the price was right. But I still say that at this time unless Alou, Delgado and Greenie all promptly rise to the occasion (which is unlikely), the Mets need a power hitter right now preferably in the OF.

Who are you going to trade to get a power hitter in the outfield right now? It’s unrealistic to think that we can trade some more no-name minor league players for someone who will be able to play the field and hit at the level we’re looking for. And despite injuries, we can’t forget all the talent we have in the outfield. Especially with Milledge, Martinez, and Gomez, anyone we picked up to play the outfield would mostly likely be in the twilight of his career, and, if we signed him for more than one year, would only be taking time away from the kids.

Choo Choo: Gotay was on the bench earlier this year when Easley was starting and Valentin was starting to come back. But while Gotay gives the bench incredible depth, he’s not quite a capable switch-hitter yet. I can definitely see him putting up numbers from both sides of the plate in the (near) future, but until then, he’s still struggling against lefties.

Willie and Omar both like Gotay but aren’t confident enought hat he can hit the way he has consistently—he’s still only 24 and not very experienced. It really would be a shame if Gotay was sent in a package for a middle reliever, but I think it’s more likely that he’ll just be getting time behind Castillo and used to pinch hit/run.

Atlanta & Philly are hungry and Minaya is not. The one year wire to wire gig was a fluke.
Unless the Mets come together as a team, it’s Heartbreak Hotel ahead. Too many shaky things that haven’t been addressed.
Start thinking about rebuilding times around Reyes and Wright for a couple of years ….

“Rebuilding times”...Seriously? “For a couple of years”? I hope that was a joke, Fly. Let’s not forget that, despite out bullpen troubles and the current injuries, Perez and Maine haven’t even reached their full potential, yet both are having spectacular years. Our outfield, with Milledge, Gomez and Martinez all coming up, should be set for years to come. As for the future pitching staff/bullpen, we still have Smith, Kuniz, Guerra, Mulvey, Humber, and Pelfrey.

The Mets are still in first place. I completely agree that they haven’t been playing with any fire for most of this season, which is why it’s so surprising to see the Mets still in first place by 3 games. Maybe it’ll take another trade, or maybe it’ll take Pedro coming back, but you just have to have a little faith in this Mets team. With or without a trade they still have the talent and team chemistry to make a strong playoff run.

I would like to see Milledge batting second and Alou third to keep Delgado out of the cleanup spot for now and let Green/Castillo be buried seventh/eighth instead. But if they are sold on Castillo batting 2, still gotta keep Delgado fifth with Alou or Milledge third.

Spiderpig,
You may as well forget what you want in the batting order. Omar said Castillo is batting 2nd. Willie has already put Delgado back at cleanup with Beltran out. I can tell you exactly what the lineup will be based on what Willie has been doing lately. Reyes, Castillo, Wright, Delgado, Alou, Milledge, LoDuca, Green. I may not agree with it, but I guarantee that will be tonite’s lineup with the possible exception of Castro if LoDuca can’t go.

If the Mets are actually close to getting Cordero, maybe the Mets side of the trade will involve Heilman, who the Nats will make back into a starter. That could stop them from wanting Milledge, Humber, or Pelfrey. I’m still not sold on Pelfrey being good, but I didn’t like Bannister last year either because of all the walksÃ¢â‚¬Â¦

I looked a little bit more closely at Ruben Gotay’s numbers including his PECOTA projections and his minor league statistics. He has only had 130 plate appearances. His .336 BA looks like a fluke. You have to be happy with his performance up to this point but you can’t expect it to continue. He just hasn’t done anything in his past to justify those expectations. He may be a good player but I think he has been playing a bit over his head. Perhaps Castillo is an upgrade over Gotay falling back to earth a bit. Any upgrade is good. Now lets get an OF to replace Shawn Green.

What sense does getting Castilla make? None, except that Minaya has been drooling over him since the Marlins made him available for trade. Look, if your roof leaks, you don’t put in new windows, you fix the roof. For the Mets, Castilla is the new window when the “roof” (aka, bullpen & OF) is leaking. No, they didn’t give up anyone good to get Castilla, but maybe that should worry Minaya. That Minnesota settled for next to nothing to unload him. In the meantime, does Gotay get sent packing back to AAA? Or does Randolph let him wilt on the bench and never play him? To me, this is a lose-lose situation. Gotay loses playing time and the Mets lose a hot hitter who is just as good and probably better than Castilla.